


Wizard of Interest

by ChelleyPam



Category: Person of Interest (TV), The Dresden Files - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 10:06:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4783385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChelleyPam/pseuds/ChelleyPam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Someone calls in a favor John owes them.  It's off to The Windy City for body guard detail during a particularly stressful political event.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wizard of Interest

The phone ringing was unexpected since both Mr. Reese and Miss Shaw were in the same room. Howard answered it on speaker as was his custom. “Hello?”

 _Need to talk to John._ The voice was deep, masculine and unfamiliar.

John Reese frowned, meeting his boss' questioning gaze. “This is John.”

_Good to hear your voice. Heard those CIA dicks punched your ticket in Ordos. Told you that you couldn't trust them. I was pleased to learn otherwise._

Shaw gave him a curious look. John was still frowning. “Who is this?”

_Kincaid. I'm calling in that marker you owe me._

Even Howard could see the shocked look that flickered through the ex-spook's eyes. “I'm not in the hit man business.”

_No, you're in the Batman business. Looks good on you, by the way. And what I need you for is in the vein of what you do now. Need you and your boss to come out to Chicago. That pretty little assassin and your pet cop should be able to handle things in your absence._

Howard Finch rolled his shoulders in an attempt to banish the building tension. “Mr. Kincaid, might I inquire as to how you obtained this phone number?”

The amusement in the other man's voice was evident, even over a phone call. _Let's just say my boss is better at information gathering than even you, though she does hold you in the utmost respect. She hopes that the two of you can meet while you're in Chicago, but I can't make any promises. She'll know when your plane lands. I'll meet you at the air port._

The call ended abruptly. Finch and Shaw both turned to stare at John. It was Shaw who broke the silence. “Kincaid? As in the Hellhound?”

John grimaced. “Yeah. An op I was on dovetailed into something he was working on at the same time. We ended up sort of working together, but not really. But me and my partner would not have gotten out alive if it weren't for him.” He shrugged. “I do owe him. He's not wrong about that.”

Finch was already hard at work. “Most references I can find to a Kincaid who is associated with the moniker 'Hellhound' come up with a Jared Kincaid.” A photo came up on screen, shot from a distance with a telephoto lens. “He's known to be a mercenary, though not a particularly active one. Of note is that the name 'Hellhound' has been used for some time, presumably by other people before him. However, the current mercenary by that name is not as active as the previous versions.”

“He mentioned that the job he was on was a 'vacation'. Said he had a steady gig he had to get back to.”

“Perhaps he was referring to this 'boss' he mentioned.”

“He's got a bad reputation. I don't think you should go, Finch. I owe him, not you.”

“That would leave you in a strange city with no support. I don't think that would be wise. I will show Miss Shaw how to retrieve and decipher the numbers so that she and Detective Fusco can continue our work here while we're gone.” The bookish man stopped, considering. “It would have been nice if he'd given us some idea of how long we will be gone.”

~***~

Finch's private plane had them landing in Chicago the next morning a bit before seven o'clock. True to his word, a large, imposing man with closely cropped blonde hair and ever wary eyes was waiting for them by a black SUV.

“You flew in this early just to fuck with me, didn't you.”

John gave him a slight, one-sided smile. “Least I could do, since you're dragging me to Chicago.”

The larger man gave a brief grunt of amusement. “Let me help you with those bags. I'd like to get you introduced and briefed as soon as possible. I don't want to leave Ivy alone any longer than I have to.”

Mr. Finch allowed the man to take the items containing his clothes and other essentials, but held on to the case with his computer. “Ivy? Is that your employer?”

“Uh huh. She's good at taking care of herself, but that's my job. And I don't like leaving her unguarded in this city. Not with what's going down.”

John helped load the bags into the SUV, his eyes ever scanning the area for potential threats. “What's going down?”

“I'll tell you when we get to our destination. Too many eyes and ears here, and I don't just mean your boss' brainchild.”

John and Howard exchanged silent, surprised looks. It was clear that Kincaid was referring to The Machine. But how did he know about it?

He drove them to a nicely kept part of suburbia. The weather was cold, but there wasn't any snowfall on the ground currently. However, the house they stopped in front of had a lawn that was still bright, jade green. It looked almost like something out of a story book. If a couple of frolicking fawns appeared to scamper around, it would not have been surprising. 

Kindcaid pulled the SUV to the curb. “Better leave your cell phones and any other electronics in the car. Neither one of you has a pacemaker do you?”

Finch frowned. John looked curious. “Why?”

“You remember the guy I was working with the day we met and what happened to your gear?”

John grimaced. “This guy will short out the electronics?”

“Not the one who lives here, but the one who'll be coming over from that house next door will. Let's go.”

They got out of the car and started walking up the driveway. John noted that Kincaid paused a moment at the gate and gave what looked like a respectful nod to the house and yard before passing through. Interesting.

The door to the house opened and a tall girl who likely gave her parents more than a few gray hairs with how she was built and wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses came out, sighing in exasperation as she turned around and called back into the house. “Hurry up! We're going to be late and I have a test first period!” She was clad in a uniform that was the default of Catholic schools everywhere.

Three other young people, also in school uniforms, came out of the house followed by a tall woman with blond hair streaked with the beginnings of gray. “We have plenty of time, Alicia. Besides, we're still waiting for Maggie. Oh!” The woman came up short as she spied the three strange men in her driveway. “I'm sorry, are you looking for my husband?”

John was aware of when the door to the house next door opened and something he thought was supposed to be a dog came out. It was close to four and one half feet on flat feet and looked like nothing less than a walking pile of shaggy, gray fur. A young girl of apparent Latin heritage came out, also in a school uniform and carrying a backpack over one shoulder. She was followed by a thin, wiry man who looked like he should be playing for the Bulls.

The man slowed his approach as he noted them, one long arm going out to place a hand on the little girl's shoulder to keep her from breaking into a run. He came forward in a wary posture, ready to break into a fight if need be. John suspected he'd pull the child behind him first. “Kincaid. What brings you here?”

Kincaid smiled. “Officially, I'm not here.”

“Uh huh.” The man gave John and Howard a once over. “And unofficially?”

“Unofficial would be bed discussed in private. Still got the dog, I see.”

The walking fur mountain gave a single bark of greeting, padded over and sniffed curiously at them, tail wagging. Satisfied, he sat down and held up a paw to Howard. Finch blinked, then gave a cautious smile before accepting the hand shake.

“And impressive animal. I can't make out the breed, though.” 

The little girl had reached the dog's side, seeming to accept the canine's assessment of them. “Dad says he's a Woolly Chammoth.”

Finch looked questioningly to the tall man who shrugged. “Half Chow, half Woolly Mammoth.”

The door to the house opened again and John saw a large man come out. He walked with a noticeable limp and used a cane. His build was that of someone who once had a lot more muscle but that had diminished due to an inability to be as active as before. He gave them a slow nod, his eyes going first to the dog, then to the tall man. “Harry?”

“Don't know, Michael. Just got here. Maggie, you and Mouse load up. We don't want to make everyone late.”

The woman who was likely the mother of the bulk of the children looked to her husband. “Michael?”

“It's fine, Charity. Let me know if you change your mind about needing help with the shopping.” The man ambulated to his wife's side and kissed her, then the daughters in turn and gave his son a slap on the shoulder before watching them load up into a mini-van and pull away. Surprisingly, the dog went with them. “Should we take this inside?”

Kincaid nodded. “That would be best.”

“Come on, then. I just made a fresh pot of coffee.”

The five men made their way into a nice home that was filled with the special warmth that came from being a place where people genuinely lived and loved one another. The kind of place men like John and Howard probably would never have. The owner, Michael, led them into the kitchen. “I there something wrong with Ivy?”

“No, Ivy is quite well. I'll let her know you asked and she asked me to tell you 'thank you' for the help you provided during that unfortunate time.”

“We couldn't very well let those people take and torture a child in such a fashion. I am glad I was able to be of assistance.”

“Even though it has taken you out of the field?”

The man had sat down and looked at his cane thoughtfully. “I may not be what I once was, but I get to be with my family again. That more than makes up for a little pain.”

The taller man, Harry, took a drink from his coffee and swallowed. “So, Jared, who are your friends?”

“Ah, right. This is John Reese and Howard Finch. Unofficially, they are here to lend assistance over the next several days.”

Harry arched a brow. “You keep saying 'unofficially'. What's up, Kincaid?”

“Officially, Ivy may have lobbied for the peace talks to take place somewhere other than Chicago and was outvoted. Unofficially she may be concerned that some parties may see possible opportunities when a certain individual who has made more than a few enemies and about whom more than a few are concerned is too busy dealing with things like security and keeping both parties to whom he is beholden happy. Unofficially she might be concerned those opportunities may translate into violent and aggressive action.”

Harry growled. “In other words, Ivy's concerned that someone may target Maggie or the Carpenters or other people I care about.”

“Unofficially.”

A cold smile touched the man's life. “Oh, right. Unofficially.” The man wore a leather glove on his left hand which was now curling into a fist atop the table. “One would think that those parties might stop to consider what happened to the last people who tried to hurt my daughter.” The lights and the hum of appliances began to flicker. The light above the stove popped with an acrid scent, the broken glass falling to the stove top.

John put a calming hand on Harold's shoulder. 

Michael reached across the table and put a hand over his. “Peace, Harry. This is not a time for anger.”

The man took in a deep breath and the lights stopped flickering. “Right. Sorry, Michael.” He looked around the kitchen and saw the blown bulb. He sighed and got up out of his chair and went into a pantry to get a potato out of one of the bins. He moved like this was something he'd done before, taking a kitchen knife out of a block and cutting the vegetable in half so he could use it to take out the broken bulb. “So, where do your friends come in?”

“Ivy thinks we might want to avoid you being sent into a rage. Chicago has burned enough times and you should probably avoid leveling the city. Still, you and me are going to be busy with the peace talks. John here owes me a favor and he's got the same mile-wide streak of protectiveness you do. And his boss here is great with computers on a level that even Ivy respects.”

That made Harry stop. “No shit?” He looked at Finch with new found curiosity. “But why computers? I don't know a damn thing about them and I can fry a hard drive at ten paces.”

“Because the kind of guys who'd be coming after you aren't going to expect any tech savvy measures, and they won't be expecting John. I'm betting you already talked to Karrin about keeping an eye on Maggie, what with now you're a couple and all, and people know what she's capable of. Adding John to the mix will be like multiplying her by four.”

Harry was screwing in a new bulb, looking over at John. “You're that good, huh.”

John shrugged. “I've been around.”

Harry gave a slow nod and then looked at Kincaid. “And you trust him?”

“Yep. And so does that dog of yours. He's got better instincts than just about anyone.”

“There is that.” Light replaced, Harry studied the two men in Michael's kitchen for a moment, then extended a hand. “Harry Dresden. Pleased to meet you.”

~***~

“How did he affect the lights that way?”

“Magic.”

Finch stopped to glare at John. “Amusing, but hardly relevant.”

“It's completely relevant.” John started getting the suitcases out of the SUV. Finch would stay with the Carpenters in the small guest room. Michael advised them that it used to be Maggie's room during the time she'd lived with them until such time as Harry could provide a place for her. The Dresden's did not have reliable electric service and considering Harry's affect on electronics, it was best that Howard set up his work space in the other house. John would be staying with the Dresdens.

“I didn't' believe it either, until the day I met Kincaid. He was taking out a next of some kind of monsters that was stealing children from the surrounding villages and eating them. It just so happened that the monsters were also associated with Al Queda. Regular guns had little affect on them and I was a goner. Then Kincaid shows up with some specialized flame thrower that used napalm. 

“We regrouped and combined my intel with his weapons. He had a guy with him that didn't carry any visible weapons. He just made fire out of nothing. Lightning, too. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I would not have believed it. Of course, all my high tech gear that used electronics got fried. Kincaid explained that magic and tech don't mix.”

“They don't,” Kincaid added, having come up behind them to help so he could get back to Ivy all the sooner. “And the guy I had with me was just a higher level sorcerer. Dresden's a full wizard, the top tier of the magical community. Probably only one percent of the spooky side have the kind of power he can throw around, and he's probably somewhere in the top ten of their lot. Maybe in the top five. Even his own people are leery of him at times.”

Finch seemed off balance as he tried to process this new information. “What happened to the last people who tried to hurt his daughter?”

“He wiped them out. There used to be a breed of vampires called the 'Red Court'. You remember a few years back when everything in Central and South America blew up? People just disappeared, some were found looking like their hearts exploded right out of their chests and all those bodies were found at Chichen Itza.”

“Yes, I recall that.”

“That was Dresden. There were probably close to one million of the Reds, and he exterminated them in one night. That's part of the reason these peace talks have come up. It left a huge power vacuum and some nasty things are climbing up and causing grief in an attempt to fill it. Now the brokers and power players for the spooky are getting together to decide what to do about all of it.”

“You seem to be very forthcoming with this information, Mr. Kincaid. It occurs to me that if supernatural creatures wanted people to know about them, then they wouldn't be relegated to the category of 'myth'.”

“And you'd be right. However, it's not like you two can't keep a secret. You're sitting on a pretty big one yourselves.”

“Yes, and I have to wonder how you know about that as well.”

“My boss.” Kincaid smiled. “Provided there's time after all this blows over, she really would like to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> _Comments are my drug of choice._


End file.
